Hiking, Royals, and Mashers - Oh my!

I've had a busy two days since my last post! Turns out the Fringe Festival doesn't begin until next Thursday, so I've lots of time on our hands to explore/eat/explore/nap/explore and repeat! We had our first class yesterday, and my frantic last minute skimming of Aristotle's The Poetics proved unneccessary -- our "Quiz" was discussion based (I think I'm going to like to coursework required). Wonderful, extensive ramblings by teacher and student will abound.

I also bought tickets to the Military Tattoo! I'll be the only one going up to see the 'pipes, so I will bring a blanket. :)

1) Hiking the Salisbury Crags! The sun broke through the rain, and roommate Kristina and I set out yesterday after class to adventure up the most Scottish looking crags I have ever seen. Seriously, of all the "I'm in Braveheart!" moments, this was the best. Besides an incredible view of the city and the wharf, we could see rolling hills and crags behind us, with even a ruin or two nestled amongst them. I felt like I should've brought my kilt. :)

2) We saw paparazzi! The crowded a sidewalk for Princess Anne's daughter's wedding reception - sorry dad/peggy, I didn't join them to grab a photo too!

3) My wee feet are getting tired with exploring! Every day I've taken long walks to discover the city -- Edinburgh is filled with winding cobblestone streets, imposing identical townhouses, and pubs pubs pubs. And if it's not a pub, it looks like it should be a pub! Even the convenience stores are housed in darling old timey storefronts.

4) Today we visited a Farmers Market on Castle Terrace -- Kristina and I bought a beef pasty for lunch tomorrow (day trip to Loch Lomond!), tasty berries, rye bread, and lamb stew meat all under the visage of Edinburgh Castle! Nearby was a graveyard with gravestones from all the way back in the 17th century. The tiny lifespans made me very happy to be in the 21st century!

5) Food thus far: It's no Italy, but it's all quite new! I've had the customary sausage and mash (at a place that served "Mum's Cooking" - it looks kind of like poo on a plate but tasted much better), as well as crumpets, haggis sausage, and TONS o' tea (my favorite!!). Kristina and I made lamb stew tonight, and I bought "the Home Book of Scottish Cookery" at a used bookshop today! Now I will know how to cook things like haddock and, hooray!!!

6) At the same used book shop I searched through old Scottish cookbooks and copied down 5 Shortbread recipes to try. I will report on how they work later, once I do the math to convert everything to grams! They use rice flour and cornmeal a lot I noticed -- what do you think mom (mum)? :)

7) I think my poor jet-lagged body is asking for a night in tonight. Lots of soup, reading, and sleep ahead of me. Hope all is well at home. :)

8) Miss you!

24 Hours in Scotland!

It's been my first full day in Edinburgh!! I've learned so much already, and haven't seen a single play yet. The city is so incredible, it'll be amazing to see it busting with +250,000 people here to see the Fringe Festival! There are so many different festivals going on (music, book, jazz) that I think they are really organizing a Festival Festival. :)

1) My Journey: I made it safely across the Atlantic, and ate cute, but horrible tasting British Airways food! I was incredibly lucky, and TWO seats next to me were empty! I curled up and enjoyed a wonderful 5 hours of airplane sleep. Heathrow was fairly simple to navigate (although all drinking fountains seem to be absent in Europe, so I was sorely partched) and they served us chocolate cookies on the commuter flight to Edinburgh!

2) The apartment is GORGEOUS! Three flights, with windy staircases, a little dining room, cute kitchen, and high ceilinged living room. Here is our room! I met most of the neighbors as I was arriving -- none of the doors were marked, so in my sleep/food deprived state and quest to get into our flat, I knocked on all of them as I was arriving...).

3) An hour in, I went out exploring (other kids were "tired" from their flights). It was gorgeous sunshine, and a few minutes after wandering through Princes Street Gardens (gorgeous fields, in view of the Edinburgh Castle, with a clock made of flowers!), I heard my first bagpiper. Guess what he was playing? THE THEME FROM FELLOWSHIP OF THE RINGS. I even got a photo of the two of us (he's tiny in the background). Best welcome that Edinburgh could have given me. :)

4) Today we visited a street packed with shops called the Royal Mile (Hogsmeade) and visited Edinburgh Castle (Hogwarts)! Outside the Castle (Hogwarts) is a huge stadium (for Quidditch) where they perform the Military Tattoo. Edinburgh is the Harry Potter World for Reals, and I expect Hagrid to push his way through the crowd at any moment. We even visited the Elephant House, a cafe where JK Rowling wrote HP1. Definitely going back there to start my great novel!

5) They let you have library cards even if you're not Scottish!! I am going to get one to the Royal Scottish Library, where we visited today. The place is incredible, with fourteen million books, aging back from the 1600s. The floor you walk in is technically the 11th floor, with ten stories built beneath it to house the books. Library card = awesome souvenir (for free!)! :)

5) Found a few Scotsmen with rockhard abs! Andrew might have some competition. ;)

6) There is so much to do! Hike this huge crag where you can see all the city, go to a mound with great monuments, go to the castle, tons of free museums, and especially PLAYS! We might plan a Glasglow trip as well. :) I can't believe I'm back in Europe!

7) Miss you. :)

Euro Trip - THE SEQUEL

I can't believe I'm headed back! One incredible year ago, I was on the flight back from Heathrow, growing teary eyed as I watched a God-awful movie set in Ireland (called "Leap Year" -- and it will only make you cry when seen on a jet lagged cross Atlantic flight). I was leaving Europe, and yet felt there was so much left to be explored, hiked, and eaten.

I am shocked to be so fortunate that I am heading back again!

Blog Post Number One (I'm sure Edinburgh will lead to more exciting posts, but this is what we get for now!):
1) Everything feels very surreal! However, that may be effects of a 3:00a wakeup, 10 hour layover, and careful rationing of my cashews, grapes, and peanut butter pita. 2) I'll be spending 24 hours in air port land! Frequent flyer miles hell yeah! My morning began with a two hour flight from Seattle to Phoenix, AZ, where I was seated next to a very nice nun named Sister Susan. I felt a bit nervous about the flight at first, as she was so scared of flying, and tearily ran through her rosary as we took off (me: "It'll be ok, it's a very good airline!" Sister Susan: *terrified smile*). Later in the flight she helped me figure out how to open our baggies of Cinnamon Pretzels and Bagel Chips.

3) Phoenix airport has great sunshine, friendly information specialists (who told me where the Wifi was, yay!), and AIR CONDITIONING. In the five minutes I spent outside grabbing the bus to the right terminal, I almost requested a wheel chair for the journey (as my dad suggested) because such heat could be deadly to my sensitive, Northwest composition. :) I almost caught a cactus in the background of my photo!!

4) I cleverly arrived forty five minutes early for the British Airways counter to open for check in. No one else showed up until two minutes prior to check in -- crazy, last minute travelers!! I wasn't completely lonely, however -- nice British Air employees came by a couple of times to let me know they didn't open until 2:30p (but, oh, I knew).

5) Thank you for all the support in getting me off so far, and the phone calls that have eaten away my time in Phoenix! I will post a quickie when I get in to Edinburgh (there is wifi in my apartment!), and hopefully will soon have many kilt and theater fueled adventures to write about. :)

6) Miss you already!